Man kicked by cop in video charged
A man whose apparently violent arrest by a Minnesota police officer was caught on video has been charged with stalking and making terroristic threats.
Thirty-year-old Eric Hightower was charged Thursday in St. Paul. The complaint says Hightower threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and had assaulted her before.
The jail would not accept a message for Hightower. The complaint says he admitted calling the woman and threatening that she'd get her "head blown off," but that he only meant to scare her.
Hightower was arrested Tuesday. During the arrest, Officer Jesse Zilge sprayed Hightower with a chemical and kicked him. The arrest was videoed by a citizen and posted on YouTube.
The department has launched an internal investigation and Zilge has been placed on leave.
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